


Shabbat Dinner

by racheltheclumsy



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Canon Jewish Character, F/M, Jewish Character, Jewish Goldstein sisters, Jewish Holidays, Light Angst, Post-Movie 1: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Shabbat | Sabbath | Sabt, jewish queenie and tina
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-02-04 05:26:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12764106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/racheltheclumsy/pseuds/racheltheclumsy
Summary: After the events of the first Fantastic Beasts movie, Newt finds himself included in a great and happy tradition. Or, the healing effects of a shabbat dinner.





	Shabbat Dinner

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! I'm just getting super brave and posting any of the fics I have completed. So here is one that I wrote awhile ago about a Shabbat dinner with the Goldstein sisters. Because they are Jewish. Their last name is Goldstein and they are Jewish I will fight you. But anyways, this takes place right after the movie more or less. I based the Judaism that is depicted in the story more or less like reform Judaism which did exist at the time. Hope you enjoy some fandom Jewiness!!

Newt was ready to get back on a ship home right after the ordeal was over. Tina looked as if she wanted to fight him on that, but after a lengthy internal battle with herself she decided to stay silent. So naturally she was relieved when Queenie all but barricaded him from leaving.

"Mister Scamander, you have just been tortured by a killer, and you have gone twenty-four hours without sleep, maybe more." Queenie said as she whipped the creaking door shut with a flick of her wand, trapping the eager magizoologist inside the apartment.

"Please, call me Newt." He casually steered the conversation away from the fact that it had indeed been more than twenty four hours since he had last slept.

Tina sat quietly in a chair between the conversation. Observing with bated breath, silently hoping that he would stay.

"You can't go off now anyways. It's four thirty. Where will you even go?" Queenie's golden curls bounced as she gave her shoulders a sassy shrug, punctuating her undeniably logical argument. Tina's eyes flicked between her sister and Newt as their points and counter points were traded back and forth. Newt was about to argue back again, but not before Queenie interrupted him. "Did ya know that you're bleeding?" She asked with a raised eyebrow and her slender arms crossed.

Newt took in a breath to talk before registering what Queenie had just said. He looked at her in confusion and she flicked her wand, pulling Newt's cerulean coat to the side to reveal a shallow bleeding gash in his brown vest. Newt's eyes followed her point and finally landed on his own injury.

"Well...fancy that." He stated as he glanced sheepishly back up at Queenie. Her stare held no victory from winning the argument, only concern for his own well being.

"And ya didn't even notice cause ya so tired, now stop arguing and let my lovely sister help you bandage that thing before ya get botulism." She finished addressing Newt and then exasperatedly began talking to no one in particular. "What is it with goyim and a complete disregard for safety?" Queenie threw her hand in the air as she glided out of the room.

In the wake of Queenie's exit, Tina stood up and padded over to Newt.

"What did your sister just call me?" Newt looked confusedly at Tina who had taken his arm and was leading him toward the bathroom.

"Well, we're Jewish, so ya know how witches and wizards call non-magic people no-mag, or um...muggles?" Newt responded with an attentive nod. Tina mirrored his nod and then continued. "Well muggles is to magic-folk as goyim is to Jews." Tina finished, using her hands to illustrate the comparison. Newt nodded again with concentration lowering his eyebrows. Suddenly his head popped back slightly and his mouth turned to a half frown.

"I think I'm slightly offended." Newt said in a way that let Tina know that he was still thinking it over.

"Don't be." Tina chuckled and shook her head. "It's endearing when Queenie says it." Tina grinned as they walked past the kitchen where Queenie was puttering away.

The pair entered the bathroom and Tina sat Newt down on the closed lid of the commode. She began taking bandages and assorted salves and poultices out of the medicine cabinet.

"That won't be necessary." Newt interrupted her. She turned to him incredulously and put her hand on her hip. Her silent response was read by Newt who defended his statement. "I've something in my case that will be better."

"Fine." She gave in and left the small tiled room to retrieve Newt's case. She returned promptly and set the case down on the floor.

"It's called essence of dittany." Newt informed her as she opened the case. "Now careful when you go in-" Newt wasn't even able to finish his warning before Tina had taken out her wand, uttered, "accio dittany" and held a small bottle of liquid in her hand. She opened the bottle and took the dropper. "I can do it myself..." Newt trailed off as he looked at Tina who was once again silently telling him to stop objecting to her help.

"You and I both know that we would get an earful from Queenie if I didn't." Tina replied. Newt smiled at that response and hesitantly unbuttoned his vest and shirt. Tina smiled and shook her head at his modesty. It was charming. Once he had pulled the fabric to the side, Tina let the golden liquid fall from the dropper and onto the nasty gash. To her great surprise the wound closed itself up with a slight sizzling sound. "Amazing." She gasped. "Does it hurt?" Tina asked without removing her eyes from the spot on Newt's torso where the cut was finishing closing itself up, leaving only slightly pink scar tissue in its place.

"Yes, but it is far more convenient than it is painful." He responded with a smile as he looked down at her. Without quite realizing what she was doing, Tina reached forward and ran her fingers along the slightly risen skin. Her eyes trailed up across Newt's chest and neck, finally landing on his face. They were both silent and breathing heavily as Tina subconsciously inched forward. Their lips were only inches apart when they were distracted by the sound of music flowing down the hall. It wasn't from a record player or a wireless, it was almost certainly somebody singing. Tina and Newt straightened where they sat, both of them now trying to tune in to the mysterious melody to try and hear it better. Tina was surprised when she realized that it was Queenie who's voice was filling the apartment. Tina listened closely and strained to hear what she was singing. Newt did the same.

_"There is a someone I've been longin' to see_

_I hope that he turns out to be_

_someone who'll watch over me..."_

Tina looked at Newt quizzically and then got to her feet to follow the sound. Newt followed her, grabbing his shirt, vest, and coat in a dreamlike state. They walked one following the other to where the sound was coming from in the kitchen. As they arrived they saw Queenie, wand in hand, walking dreamily around the kitchen. Ingredients swirled to and fro, preparing themselves into a meal fit for a king as she enchanted them to do so. As she did this she continued to sing.

_"Although he may not be the man some Girls think of as handsome..._

_To my heart he carries the key..."_

She paused, took a deep, shaking breath, and then continued her song, but no longer moved, her hands gripping white-knuckled to the table as is she would fall if she were to let go.

 _"Won't you tell him please to put on some speed,"_  

The melodic line shook as her voice was mangled by sadness. She looked down at the floorboards and tears dropped from her mascara-coated lashes.

_"Follow my lead, oh how I need... Someone to watch over me."_

She finished her song and began swirling her wand once more. The ingredients began assembling themselves once again. Tina and Newt glanced at one another before silently agreeing to look busy just as Queenie turned around to face them. When she did turn around, she saw Tina busily tending the fire and Newt whistling and looking at pictures on the mantle with his hands shoved deep into his trouser pockets. She looked at them and then quickly wiped any remnant of her sadness from her face.

"Dinner in five kiddies." She said as she turned back around red-faced. She walked out of the kitchen and let the dinner finish assembling itself, as she made her way to the bathroom to freshen up her face. Tina fell back onto the couch and tucked her legs up against her chest. Newt shuffled his feet as he walked up to sit awkwardly next to Tina.

"I'm no expert in muggle maladies..." Newt broke the strange silence that Queenie had left the apartment in. Tina looked to him to see what he had to say. "...but I'm nearly positive that one cannot get botulism from a flesh wound." He finished as he did the buttons of his shirt and slipped on his vest.

Tina grinned and smoothed her hair back."That's just what she says. Our mother used to say it too." Tina explained.

Newt nodded and then went back to his shirt and vest, fiddling with the blood-stained tear in the side.

"She's not usually like this. Queenie I mean." Tina said honestly.

Newt could only smile and nod before Queenie came bustling back into the room.

"Sun's almost down, come on Teenie." Queenie called.

Newt shook his head in slight disbelief. It seems that the sun had only just risen, but they had all slept for a couple hours upon returning to the apartment. As food settled gracefully on the table, Queenie pulled two small white candles from a wooden cabinet. Tina sat down shortly followed by Newt.

Queenie held the Candles and then released them. They levitated over to the middle of the table and hung just above the feast. Newt wasn't sure what the candles were for but he didn't ask questions. They were insisting he stay, so he kept his mouth shut. Queenie held her hands out in front of her, and then waved her hands over the candles, once, twice, and on the third pass the wicks flickered to life with flame. As her hands came back to her, she brought them to cover her eyes rather than dropping them to her sides. Newt glanced over to Tina to see that, she too was covering her eyes. Queenie's voice filled the apartment once more, but this time it was not in a hopeful, ditty tinged with sadness, it was in an ancient chant.

_"Baruch atah adoni, elohenu melech, haolam..."_

Her voice held something different in it than before. A kind of richness that only came from feeling connected to something bigger.

_"Asher kiddishanu bamitzvotav, vitzivanu, lechadlic ner, lechadlic ner, shel Shabbat."_

Her voice lingered on the last word. Stretching it in a melisma over several notes.

 _"Amen."_ Tina echoed the word on the same note that her sister had just finished.

Newt was in awe. He was suddenly feeling like more of a cultural anthropologist than a zoologist as he observed the Goldstein sisters chant tunes that were older than his own religion, which he felt only vague connection with.

The sisters got up and washed their hands, each uttering a short, spoken prayer as they did so. As Tina did a blessing over a cup of special wine, Queenie held her own cup of the same wine and uttered an _"Amen"_ after Tina finished. The sisters then each placed a hand on a loaf of braided bread that sparkled with a coating of sugar under the light of the candles, which did not drip any wax. They said a prayer in unison, both ending in an _"Amen,"_ and Newt found his own lips ghosting the syllables of an amen as well.

Immediately after the last word, the sisters dug their fingers into the bread and each pulled off a hefty chunk. Tina happily took a bite of the soft bread with the sweet crisp shell and then reached for some salt. She dusted a few of the grains onto the bread and then continued to eat.

"Teenie..." Queenie got her sister's attention. Tina looked up from her bread with a big piece of it hanging out of her mouth. Queenie stifled a giggle as she tore of dainty pieces from her own bread and popped them into her mouth one by one. "Do you wanna offer your pal a piece of challah?" Queenie jerked her head over to Newt who still sat in wonder, his hands neatly folded in his lap. Tina looked over to Newt, only just realizing that he was waiting to be told that he could take food.

"Have some." Tina demanded over the food in her mouth.

Newt smiled and his eyes lit up as he tore off his own piece of bread and tasted it. Tina and Queenie were talking to one another, but Newt couldn't hear them over the choir of angels that sang when he took a bite of the bread. It tasted like doughnuts, except better. Before he could remember his manners he made a noise that was something between what a niffler and a demiguise sound like when they are eating.

 _This is the best thing I have ever tasted_  He thought to himself.

"Thanks honey!" Queenie bore her full, sparkling grin for the first time that evening and then flicked her wand.

Suddenly a bowl full of some kind of dumpling soup floated over to the table and landed in front of Tina.

Tina, still with a mouthful of bread, began eating the soup.

"Newt honey, you want matzo balls or kreplach?" Queenie smiled at him. "You don't know what those are." Queenie read his thoughts although the confusion was evident on his face. "One of each it is then!" She grinned and a bowl of soup flew slowly to Newt and settled in front of him.

The broth was rich and golden, there were chicken and carrots in it too. There were also large dumplings in the middle. One was perfectly round, and the other was pinched off like the kind in Poland. The pinched off one contained delicious roast beef, and the round one contained nothing, but it was deliciously fluffy.

They all chattered about glorious nothings, obviously trying to put the last twenty four hours from their minds. Newt was thinking to himself that he was quite satisfied.

"We haven't even gotten started yet honey." Queenie grinned as she flicked her wand again. A brisket surrounded by potatoes floated over to the table and a dish of green beans followed shortly. Newt glanced over to Tina with a look that could only be described as bamboozlement and both of the sisters began to laugh. “Clearly you've never met a Jewish girl.” Queenie sighed between laughs.

The girls began to laugh again and Newt smiled as he gratefully accepted the brisket.

**Author's Note:**

> The song Queenie sings while she is cooking is one of my favorites! It is Someone To Watch Over Me by George Gershwin. It too is period accurate! Also I headcannon that essence of dittany was a new discovery at the time that this takes place. I just feel like it makes sense. Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
